Changing Tides
by DianaxAkiraFTW
Summary: Dirk has lived in the ocean his whole life, wanting nothing but to feel the surface waves. Jake has always been curious about the ocean, wanting to explore the deep blue depths. One job and a chase later and the two meet, alien to one another. Merstuck


**Changing Tides – Prologue – Exploring**

Dirk remembers the first time he went to the surface. They were nine, him and Dave, and it had taken so much persuasion to get their older Bro to take them up where the sunlight shifts along with the waves, making the patterns that just barely shine on their scales. They wanted to see the sun, feel some warmth that wasn't generated from the high pressured valves that made the stones in their tiny outing turn red.

Eventually the eldest broke under their constant nagging and, holding their hands like it would be the last time he would see them, took them up until the near black waters became a light blue. The boys were filled with curiosity and swam off; making sure that their Bro could see them so that he wouldn't freak out and start destroying the nearby coral in panic of losing one of them.

Dirk heard the high pitched warble from Dave and swam towards him, looking up curiously at what he had found. It was something unique, a large block of something that just barely glided on the surface. Near the back something whirred to life and, assuming it was the head, Dirk swam towards it and raised a hand tentatively to prod at the beast.

The next thing Dirk knows, he's being yanked back by his tail and he lets out a shriek of pain along with Dave, and their Bro has dragged them back to their outing that is somewhat buried under the tough sand, shrieking and yelling and cursing at them for being so stupid as to try and _touch_ something they don't know about.

Bro then brings up the humans and their boats, the beings that live above the surface that don't have gills, fins or a tail and the contraptions they make to travel across their home. He brings up their stupidity and the utter lack of sense and that they would slaughter them if they went near them whatsoever.

"If you see one, swim. Swim fast and swim very, very far away. Forget what you were doing before and just fucking get away." Bro says, and then he leaves, coming back with a large fish that he shares with the family.

Oh course, the twins didn't listen.

It's been about seven years since Bro first took Dave and Dirk up to the surface, the nine year olds are now sixteen, and they have taken multiple trips up to the surface behind Bro's back. Bro had died about a year ago, and the orange and red fined boys had felt guilty for never telling their Bro what they did (though they're pretty sure he already knew), but they still went up there every day looking at the patterns the sun made through the rippling water.

But today was different; today Dave and Dirk were going to different places to explore. Every time they would go to the surface, the brothers would stick together. It was like a rule that they agreed on subconsciously, they would always look at the coral together, they would hunt together, anything and everything was done together.

But Dave had become distant when Bro died, he was right there when Bro told him to hide, when the higher, more powerful Mermen came and tore him to pieces. Dave felt like it was all his fault, he didn't do anything to help because Bro told him not to, because Bro was too stupid and maybe, just maybe Dave could've saved him or made it so that he wouldn't bleed to death. Dave blamed himself, and the more the two went off to the surface, the more Dave went farther away from Dirk until he told him that he wanted to go somewhere else, not with Dirk.

This was the first time Dirk has gone to the surface without anyone else, and he was _terrified_. He swam slowly, trying not to disturb the waters badly, and he looked at the coral that had formed, the colors distracting him slightly from his own fear. It still wasn't enough though, Dirk still couldn't help but jump as the tiniest fish he's ever seen swims past his ear fins.

That is, until Dirk sees a gigantic fish. It's so large, and Dirk's stomach can't help but let out a gigantic growl at the sight of it. Dirk moves slower, trying to sneak up behind the fish, and then he darts forward, trying to claw at its gills. Of course, the damn thing darts off before he can even touch it, and Dirk huffs in frustration.

Of course the largest prey won't make it easy for him, of _course_.

And of course, Dirk gives chase. They have plenty of left over fish from previous hunts in the outing, but a little more never hurt, and a fish this large would keep them going for weeks. So Dirk chases it as it flails by a school of fish, trying to make them spread and confuse him, and Dirk admits that he was startled by the amount of fish that suddenly ran into him, but he doesn't lose sight of the big one. He starts having tunnel vision; he can only focus on that one fish and nothing else.

So it's a surprise when the fish collides into something invisible and they are both dragged upwards, towards the surface, with even more smaller fish that had surrounded them.

Dirk thrashes, his body twisting and his hands open and clawing, trying to hit whatever has wrapped around him. He looks up and sees that he's about to breach the surface and he just now noticed that he's near a _boat_ and he's going to fucking die and oh god oh god _oh my fucking god_.

Dirk thrashes harder, trying to angle himself so that he'll swim downwards, pulling the invisible thing with him. Something groans above him, and Dirk feels a surge of satisfaction that he's succeeding. That satisfaction is thoroughly squashed when he's dragged up with more force and strength, and Dirk starts clawing and thrashing his tail again, trying to get the fuck away from the thing that will kill him.

He breaches the surface in a few seconds, screeching as loud as he can in hope that he'll get someone to hear him and save him. He hears a scream from behind him, from the boat, and he thrashes harder, just trying to get away. The sun that made beautiful designs under the water practically blinded him and his eyes were closed tightly, relying solely on touch and hearing.

His back thumps on something hard, something smooth, something unnatural and he tries to claw and the weird webbing that is scratching underneath his scales, causing him pain. Something grabs his wrists, no, something is straddling him and his arms can't move, his tail thumps but every movement hurts…

It hurts so much…

Jake was always a curious kid. He remembers when his parents died, and of course he felt sad as his grandparents took him in. Jade grieved with him, but after figuring out that the island his Grandparents lived on was filled with so many mystical creatures, he went out of his way to explore the island and try to draw every creature he saw, even giving them names.

So, when Jake and Jade were old enough to go back to the mainland, go to school and get a job, they happily agreed. After saying goodbye, they left, heading to a town in California named Costa del Mar (which, after Jade looked it up, means Sea Coast) which had beautiful coral reefs and a lot of colleges that studied marine biology.

Jade and Jake arrived in the middle of summer, probably five days after Independence Day, where fireworks light up the sky with red white and blue, and enrolled in the best college there, Skaia Academy for Marine Biology. Over the week they were there, trying to find a job, they met John Egbert and Jane Crocker.

John was a natural prankster, and Jade hit off with him instantly. Jane was John's cousin, an excellent baker at that, and Jake liked her personality. The four made a strong friendship, and the two natives managed to put in a good word for them at the fishing company they worked at and the twins got a job.

"It'll give you guys some money okay? That, and we both have the same shift today, so you won't be in the dark with us around!" John says, helping Jake put on a life vest while Jake grabbed a spare net. "Also, the boat driver is a little bit crabby, but he's a good guy, I promise!"

"Are you trying to make as many fish puns as possible?" Jake asks, testing the life vest's straps, tugging them hard, before dragging the net over the boat's side.

John laughs and pulls himself onto the boat, turning around and holding out his hand, trying to help Jake up. "Okay, all of that was unintentional. The driver's name is Karkat, and he's just a little bit angry… more than half the time…"

"Well I'll be careful around him," Jake grabs the edge of the boat and hosts himself halfway up before grabbing John's hand, the additional muscle helping him aboard. "So what's this Karkat look-?"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? GET ON BOARD ALREADY, WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE WITHOUT YOU IF YOU DON'T HURRY THE FUCK UP!" A voice shouts angrily from the head of the ship, and Jake turns, seeing a Puerto Rican teen glaring holes at him, deep brown eyes meeting deep green, one flaring in rage, the other in confusion.

"That's Karkat. He's one of the best boaters in the town, and knows the coast like the back of his hand." John says before turning to Karkat. "Sorry 'bout that Karkat, you can start up the motors now!"

The boy grumbles something under his breath before turning around, starting up the motors and speeding away from the docks. John and Jake head into the hull and see Jane and Jade, quickly striking up a conversation (which spirals out of control) and the next thing they know Karkat is yelling at them to cast out the nets.

The nets are hooked up to a machine, one that can reel in the fish for them and their going down, down into the depths of the deep blue, filled with things that the human race have never seen before.

Thirty minutes pass, and John is telling him to start up the machine to begin reeling it up. Jake fumbles with the controls before finding the activation switch, the machine trembling a little bit before it begins.

Less than a minute later, the machine is groaning and bending slightly, and Jake backs up in fright. "Uh… John, Jane?" And the two experienced fishers look at him in confusion, but their eyes lock onto the machine and fear crosses their face. "I'm gonna assume that this isn't supposed to happen?!" Jake asks, backing away from the machine even more.

John swears under his breath, and he sprints towards the machine. "Jane, help me pull the net up before the machine breaks!" And his cousin comes quickly, Jake following suit. The more hands helping John with the net, the easier the job would be, right?

They all grab at the net, pulling the thin strings up as quickly as they could; the machine's groaning lessening more as the seconds go by. Eventually they can see the fish they pulled up, which aren't that big so why is the machine struggling with… with…

"…what the fuck is that?!" Jane shouts and backpedals away from the net as it's tossed onto the deck. What's in the net is a weird man-fish thing with an orange tail and weird fin-like ears. Its tail and arms are flailing around the net, trying to cut it, and its eyes are closed tightly.

Jake knows that, whatever it is, it's hurting itself by doing this. He jumps on top of it, wrapping his knees around the tail and pinning down its wrists. It thrashes around a bit more before it stops panting harshly.

Jake stares at it, barely noticing the hand on his shoulder. "Karkat's going back to the docks, we're going to bring this thing to your place, Jade mentioned a large aquarium in your basement, right?" Jake nods, and John helps him stand up. "Okay, Karkat's going to go full throttle, okay? Let's just try to keep this thing hydrated until we get there. Jane and I have a car that can hold a large amount of water in the trunk, and we'll go to your place, okay?"

Jake nods again, and John helps him lift the thing (now unconscious) into a large plastic crate, filled with water. They're both shaking as they head into the hull, now silent with shock and fear.

Jake always wanted to explore the ocean and find new creatures, but now that he has, he doesn't know what to do.


End file.
